Here is the protocol for how we’ll be handling the Usage Study in the
Reference Dept. Directions on actually scanning the materials are
included at the bottom of this post.
1. All Reference Materials (including Music Reference) are to be left on tables or carts.
2. Reference Librarians will pick up books occasionally during the day and put them on the cart near the Reference Desk.
3. Whoever is working the evening shift at the Reference Desk will scan
and then shelve the books on the cart. Preferably around 9:00 pm.
4. Weekend reference staff should collect, scan, and shelve materials 1/2 before their shift is done.
5. Circulation workers do not need to shelve any Reference Materials. The reference librarians will be doing that.
6. If you only have time to shelve a few books, only scan a few books. Any books on the cart will be considered unscanned.
Directions for scanning books (pretty simple).
1. Double-click on Ref Usage Study on the Reference Desk computer’s desktop.
2. Scan the books to be shelved.
3. Close Excel (“yes” to save changes).
4. Shelve the books.
Thanks for your help in allowing us to better document the use our Reference Collection is getting!
There is another new tool available for Butler faculty and students this fall. It is called Butler WikiRef. For those unfamiliar with wikis, a wiki is a collection of web pages that can be edited by anyone. Wikipedia
is the most famous example of a wiki. The purpose of Butler WikiRef is
to create a forum for individuals using our reference materials to
comment on them.
If there is a particular database or reference book that you have found
useful, please add your comments to our wiki. If you have found a
resource that was helpful in a particular class, please share your
recommendation with the rest of us. If a particular resource was NOT
helpful or was hard to use, you are welcome to share that information
also. You can even create a new page for a book or website that has not
been reviewed yet.
It is our hope that Butler WikiRef will become a useful collaborative
tool for all of our faculty and students. The more that people
participate, the greater the value of the wiki becomes.
You can access our library wiki here: http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/butler_wikiref/
You may have noticed on the Butler Libraries website that we now have a link called “Ask A Librarian.” This is an expansion on a function that we’ve had for quite a while.
If you have a reference or research question, you may now contact a
reference librarian quickly and easily by using this page. Methods
include telephone, email, and Instant Messenger. We are using
exclusively AOL Instant Messenger for our chat service at this time. If
you want to set up an AIM account, you don’t need to use AOL; you just
need to download the AIM client and create a screen name. Visit http://aim.com to get started.
Our screen name is “Butler RefLib” and you are encouraged to add us to
your Buddy List, so you can easily contact us whenever you have a
reference or research question.
Librarians:
At the behest of Lewis, the Reference Dept. has recently conducted some
intensive collection development–including location transfers and a
few cancellations.
Related to this is Scott’s usage study of all reference books.
The eventual goal for these endeavors is to create a collection of
essential reference titles, thus freeing up shelf space. This, in
turn, may lead to more overall space which will allow us to add
additional workstations and study space.
So, we please ask that you DO NOT re-shelve any reference books. Someone in Reference will do this after having scanned them into the tracking database.
In addition, many titles are now in Technical Services waiting to
be processed. However, there are other projects ahead of ours so it may
be a month or so before Technical Services is able to process these changes.
In the meantime, if you are looking for a reference book and it’s not
on the shelf, there’s a good chance it’s on a cart in Technical
Services (despite what the catalog says). So, you may have to call upstairs or physically walk up there
and check for yourself.
If you have any questions please ask someone in Reference.
-B
If you find yourself lacking sufficient articles for your research or
having any kind of difficulty with using our databases or searching for
material, please remember that the Reference Desk is staffed most of
the day and evening on weekdays during the school year.
We can be reached at 940-0235, via email at irwinreference@butler.edu, or via AOL Instant Messenger at Butler Reflib.
Science reference assistance is available at 940-9401 or by emailing bhowes@butler.edu.
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